2002 – 2003

Ocean Planet in the Around Alone – Update
Saturday, February 22, 2003

Hi all,

I’m sad to say that we were laid out by a BIG breaking wave while I was napping. It knocked stuff everywhere and woke me up, but I was groggy and realized too late that my autopilot had lost its marbles and was headed for a crash jibe in 40kts of wind. I scrambled for the tiller when I became aware of what was happening, but only made it to the vestibule when the 35ft boom came over and crashed into the runner. A lot of stuff broke all at once. The boom broke right where it hit the runner, the runner deck block exploded and then the runner jammer ripped out of the deck leaving a good sized hole. Just what I needed!

It has taken me several hours to clean up the mess as best as I can for now, and I am sailing under headsail alone. A fair amount of water came in through the hole in the deck. If I can get some supplies sent to the Falklands, I will stop there and see if I can fix the boat.

I’m okay other than being dispirited and tired. And broke.

Bruce